free bore question

[6.5 Grendel Fever]

I purchased a radical arms upper last month.
Been so busy ,
just this week had some time to play.
I need some info,I checked for cartridge overall length for the hornady 123 eld m `s .My calipers were constantly reading 2.220 ????
I took upper to a friends and he was getting same 2.220 .
I was under the impression I should be getting 2.245-2.255 , and mag length being 2.260 , correct. Am I missing something ? Made a dummy round and doesnt look like a 6.5 grendel round. Not an ideal free-bore ? HELP
Thanks Gary

[LRRPF52]

Sounds like a short throat if you're getting 2.220" COL with 123gr ELD-M.

Is it a "radial arms" or Radical Firearms barrel?

[Crusty]

In mine, a 123gr ELD-M measures 1.750" from the base to the ogive (where the bullet touches the lands) at max length. I generally load these to 1.688" to the ogive which gives me a gap of 0.062" to the lands. The nominal COL for these is 2.260" but it varies because the meplat varies a significant amount for these bullets, though the ogive measurement is the same. I can load them up to around 2.296" in my mags but I've found that the groups are tighter loaded shorter and they feed, chamber and lock up with no problems.

[6.5 Grendel Fever]

radical arms. So (if) it has a short throat , does manufacturer take care of me.Or the middleman- primary arms were I purchased it ? I emailed them -Radical Arms and have not heard from them yet???

[Klem]

radical arms. So (if) it has a short throat , does manufacturer take care of me.Or the middleman- primary arms were I purchased it ? I emailed them -Radical Arms and have not heard from them yet???

Unless you ordered a specific chamber dimension then I would think it boils down to whether SAAMI Go and No Go Gauges work as they should on your rifle. If they don't then the person who took your money is legally responsible. If the gauges do work then it becomes a situation of diplomatic negotiation, bearing in mind you have no leverage in the matter.

[mdewitt71]

Email Radical Firearms.... they should take care of you.

customerservice@radicalfirearms.com or jfarinas@radicalfirearms.com

I have bought half a dozen uppers or barrels from them and had issues twice but, was taken care of quickly.

[6.5 Grendel Fever]

Thanks guys,I just got a message from RA. Asking me to send them pics of the bcg and feed ramps.I will...

[6.5 Grendel Fever]

Sent pictures as asked,now Brad from RA has asked me to send the upper back to him @ RA .Sent him my info and am waiting on return shipping label.I feel thats a very good start.

[6.5 Grendel Fever]

I was told my upper was shipped out today . Six weeks seems like a long time. But as long as I get a barrel that shoots the 123`s I`m ok with it all. Also was told they replaced the barrel with a new one. Should get it middle of next week .Cant wait to get it. I will keep in touch .

[6.5 Grendel Fever]

Received my upper Friday the 6th. Yesterday had a chance to look it over.
And to my surprise it looked like the barrel I sent to RA .Had a little smudge towards the end were the pepper brake is, as did the 1st one. Again, I get 2.220" C.O.A.L (touching lands). with the H 123 eld M `s.Someone stated if saami go no go gauges work,that`s life ? I dig that, but isnt saami minimum coal 2.235 "(factory ammo length) and max 2.260"(most hand loads) ?. I`m 15 thou short of minimum.Plus my dummy round would get jammed @ 2.255"coal . I sent them a dummy round @ 2.255" and said get as close to that or I dont want it!
I pm`d RA Saturday and asked why they sent me the same or a clone I was not able to use. Cant even use factory ammo, seems messed up, no ? I hope this makes sense guys. Again like my 1st post,am I missing something ? Any wisdom is welcomed /

[Bigs28]

Return it for refund and buy from someone else.

[6.5 Grendel Fever]

That is my thinking as well . Curious to see what response I get tomorrow.
I did keep the box .What a PITA though !

[ported45]

Received my upper Friday the 6th. Yesterday had a chance to look it over.
And to my surprise it looked like the barrel I sent to RA .Had a little smudge towards the end were the pepper brake is, as did the 1st one. Again, I get 2.220" C.O.A.L (touching lands). with the H 123 eld M `s.Someone stated if saami go no go gauges work,that`s life ? I dig that, but isnt saami minimum coal 2.235 "(factory ammo length) and max 2.260"(most hand loads) ?. I`m 15 thou short of minimum.Plus my dummy round would get jammed @ 2.255"coal . I sent them a dummy round @ 2.255" and said get as close to that or I dont want it!
I pm`d RA Saturday and asked why they sent me the same or a clone I was not able to use. Cant even use factory ammo, seems messed up, no ? I hope this makes sense guys. Again like my 1st post,am I missing something ? Any wisdom is welcomed /

I am on my third upper from Bear Creek Arsenal. COL max has been 2.234", 2.205", and now 2.222" all with the same Nosler 120 BT bullet that Nosler says to load to 2.245". Fit and finish are finally acceptable (with the exception of the throat length), so I am going to load some shorty ammo and give it a try to see what accuracy looks like. Not like I will ever shoot factory through it anyway.

[6.5 Grendel Fever]

WELL, when I got home from work on Friday, there was a familiar package sitting on the table.I know this pkg,it has been to Texas 3 times. I will cut to the chase and not go into my entire experience again here...Opened the box and first thing i saw was a new barrel.I then went to the garage/man-cave and wiped off all the oil/lube from entire upper. Grabbed a Hornady 123 ELD M and measured for C.O.A.L . My sinclair tool again was getting slight differences . 2.270" ,2.265", even a few in the 2.25`s" area. BUT, I was very encouraged so far . I new the upper was shipped ,so thursday I bought a Spike`s stripped lower and a LPK , stock and buffer tube assembly and putt it together yesterday. Put my upper n lower together. Sat at the bench and made up 20 rounds to shoot and see how everything functions, ect . All I had was H-322 for powder , used a moderate charge of 26.0 gr , New Hornady brass. Remington 7 1/2 primers . Set them all at 2.255" coal.All loaded and unloaded properly . Took 3 shots at 50yrds to dial in scope.I was 5" high but 2 touching and 3rd 1/2" to the right. WOW! I thought. Next took a few 3 shot groups out to 100yd`s. And after a few groups and some adjusting of the scope. Again at 100 I was able to keep these initial groups under MOA, more like .75" . At this time I am very happy with my 6.5 Grendel .
It was a PITA , but Brad @ Radical Firearms did go to bat for me and did not quit until they had resolved the issue with the initial upper.I will be putting some more rounds together here this afternoon .Will have pics next time Will also be trying some CFE223 in the near future .Got to get some honey do`s done , then to the range. Happy Happy ...

[Bigs28]

Awesome. Glad it worked out